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Ware forms capital planning committee

WARE -- With the formation of the town's Capital Planning Committee now complete, Town Manager Mary T. Tzambazakis said work can begin in earnest on putting together a plan for town building renovations, road reconstruction and other projects and seeking Town Meeting approval to issue bonds to cover the costs.

Tzambazakis, who will chair the committee, said she is hoping to have a plan ready to submit to a Town Meeting session in the fall, but if that doesn't happen she expects there will definitely be action on a plan by the spring.

Treasurer-Collector Lee Deveneau Martinelli will serve on the Capital Planning Committee, and Scott Mosso will represent the Finance Committee and Richard Norton will represent the Board of Selectmen.

The final appointments to the committee were made Tuesday, when the selectmen approved Tzambazakis' recommendations of architect Richard Schneider, Daniel O'Connor and Clayton Sydla.

The committee is now full constituted for the first time in more than two and a half years.

There are specific criteria for when projects can be added to the capital plan and each project will be rated.

Tzambazakis said that in the past, members of the Capital Planning Committee would be through with their work once the plan was acted on by a Town Meeting, but she wants the committee to meet quarterly to review progress on the various projects included in the bond package.

Building a new fire station will be the largest single project on the capital plan, and improvements for Town Hall will also be important.

The fire station, proposed to be built at 200 West St., has a price tag of $7 million. Federal stimulus money will cover $5 million of that cost and a state grant will cover $1 million, leaving the town to put in $1 million. The Town Meeting has already approved building the facility and borrowing the money needed for construction, but Tzambazakis said the bonds will be dealt with through the Capital Planning Committee process.

The town already has a consultant's report on what improvements are needed to make the Town Hall more efficient, and Tzambazakis said the newly formed committee will deal with those recommendations, as well as road construction projects, possibly including the issue of replacing the Doane Road Bridge or re-routing the intersection of Doane Road and Route 9 in a way that the bridge is not needed.

Tzambazakis said town officials are working on applying for grants for improvements to Main Street and this potential work could also be on the agenda for the Capital Planning Committee.

Replacing vehicles and other capital equipment might also be considered by the committee rather than have departments try to finance such purchases in their already tight budgets, Tzambazakis said.